The Great Khans are the only truly organized band of raiders in the Mojave and, as befits their warrior culture, men and women both can hold their own in a fight, whether in a brawl or a shootout. As a tribe however, the Great Khans are but a shadow of their former selves. Both their numbers and morale have been ravaged by a series of massacres and displacements. From their rocky stronghold at Red Rock Canyon, they make a living by drug-trafficking and the occasional raid or salvage find.

Since the Bitter Springs Massacre, the tribe has aspired to little more than survival and isolation, with often acts of vengeance on the occasional NCR citizen or deserter. The arrival of a Legion emissary, Karl, has changed this. Papa Khan, the tribe's leader, wants to believe Karl's assurances that the Great Khans will be absorbed intact by the Legion, assuming glory and an honored place as one of its elite forces. To lead the assaults on Hoover Dam and the Vegas Strip would make for fine acts of vengeance. The rest of the Great Khans are not so entirely convinced.

As much as they want to exact revenge on the NCR and Mr. House's Three Families, as it was implied that the Great Khans had a war against the Omertas, they know that they lack the strength to do so. Indeed, they believe it is only a matter of time before their enemies track them down and that the Great Khans would be unlikely to survive such a confrontation. The looming conflict between Caesar's Legion and the NCR, along with the message from Karl, offers the possibility of a new way forward. Karl betrays the Khans and never did mean to be on their side, as told in his journal, in reality the Great Khans will be enslaved by the Legion after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam.

The Great Khans reside in Mongolian-style tents called Gers within Red Rock Canyon. However, unlike the other settlers of the Mojave, these homes are used for little more than sleeping in as they usually only have room for a couple of beds and a central fire. A Great Khan often carries all of their possessions with them, if they should decide to have anything besides the bare essentials. Because of this, as well as their aggression, the other factions view them as savages. However, unlike the Jackals, Fiends, Scorpions and Vipers the Great Khans are not hostile towards new-comers. As a similarity, if the Great Khans begin to dislike someone they will often show great hostility towards them.

The Great Khans subsist on hunting and farming, as well as sales of chemicals and drugs produced in the Red Rock Drug Lab. The Canyon is a harsh environment for plants, leading the Great Khans to depend on drugs as a substitute for crops, which they can create quite easily and can sell to a multitude of factions. Coincidentally, one of their most frequent consumers is also their largest enemy: the New California Republic. The NCR officially has a ban on illegal drugs, however the Crimson Caravan and wealthy merchants that make up the NCR frequently turn a blind eye in order to make a profit. While these merchants make up a large portion of their custom, their biggest consumer is, by far, the Fiends - violent raiders constantly searching for new and exciting drugs. Though the drug trade is not the Great Khans' only form of self-sufficiency. They constantly hunt geckos and bighorners for their meat and pelts, which are tanned into the leather outfits they are often seen wearing. The Great Khans also wear crude armor plating on their legs.

The Great Khans' preferred form of warfare is through war parties, where multiple central figures lead their own individual units into individual battles and adapt on the fly, rather than being ordered by a main unit.

The Great Khans usually keep to themselves, rarely traveling too far from Red Rock Canyon, besides the odd raiding party or trek to Fiend territory for fear of being attacked by NCR troops. They frequently visit the fiends and other tribes or organizations dependent on their drugs, despite the fact that they are quite isolated and hostile to many factions. They remain suspicious of many strangers, because of what happened to them at Bitter Springs, although they are always ready to accept a newcomer and perform their brutal initiation rituals on them. They are often unpredictable and brash so relations are treated with caution, as the wrong word will often set off a fuse in them. They are hostile against anyone wearing NCR apparel, including the Courier.

The Followers of the Apocalypse visited them upon the arrival of Red Rock Canyon and helped them with books, medicine and technology. When the Khans instead chose to use that knowledge to become drug dealers, they withdrew their support in disgust.

The Khans maintained an alliance with Caesar's Legion for some time, despite the Legion's general disgust of drug usage and raiders. Many Khans say the alliance had more to do with their hatred of the NCR than their fondness of the Legion.

The Great Khans use a very random assortment of weapons, while most Great Khans boast of their great strength very few use melee weapons as their primary weapon, even though a large arena resides in the canyon where multiple Khans hone their melee fighting abilities. Khans are said to be tough and able to hold their own in a fight, both with their fists or in a shootout. Many Great Khans use 10mm submachine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and 9mm submachine guns. Others around Red Rock Canyon may be found carrying hunting revolvers, hunting shotguns, trail carbines and 12.7mm pistols as well as the random weapons in between.

They have picked up methods of how to make chems by abusing the trust of the Followers of the Apocalypse (However if you convince them to leave the Mojave, they will eventually heal their relations with the Followers). They are known to grow a small amount of crops in Red Rock Canyon. Unlike most other inhabitants of the Mojave, the Great Khans are a tribal/raider group that live in tents.

After generations of being beaten down, the Great Khans were finally broken by the Courier. Those few who avoided the Courier's wrath moved north, into the wilderness of Idaho, where they tried once more to rebuild.

After the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the Great Khans returned for a time to Red Rock Canyon. The NCR's pressing need to expand proved greater than its promise of amnesty, and before long the government decided the Khans had to go. The surviving Great Khans were relocated to an isolated, barren reservation, well north of NCR trade routes.

For supporting the NCR, the Great Khans were ruthlessly hunted down by the victorious Legion. Caesar destroyed all evidence of their existence at Red Rock Canyon, and forbade mention of their name in any history. The Great Khans' legacy was swiftly forgotten.

As reward for their loyal service, Caesar forcibly integrated the Great Khans into the Legion. The sick and elderly were killed, the women sold as wives to ranking officers, and the tribe's identity was annihilated. Though many Great Khans mourned the death of their tribe, many more were ultimately satisfied with their revenge against NCR.

Do not convince Papa Khan to break his alliance with Caesar's Legion, complete the endgame quest Veni, Vidi, Vici for Caesar's Legion.

5

After driving the Legion out of the Mojave Wasteland, the victorious NCR turned its attention to those who had allied themselves with Caesar. The Great Khans were among the first tribes to suffer this fate, and the few who survived Hoover Dam were driven north, into the wilderness of Idaho.

Do not convince Papa Khan to break his alliance with Caesar's Legion, complete the endgame quest Eureka! for the NCR.

6

During the Battle of Hoover Dam, the Great Khans quickly evacuated Red Rock Canyon and headed north and east into the plains of Wyoming. There, they reconnected with the Followers of the Apocalypse and rebuilt their strength. Bolstered by ancient knowledge of governance, economics, and transportation, they carved a mighty empire out of the ruins of the Northwest.

Convince Papa Khan to break his alliance with Caesar's Legion, but do not replace him with Regis. Afterwards, convince Papa Khan that the Great Khans should claim their own legacy. This ending is compatible with all 4 endgame quests and will override the others if both conditions are met.

7

After their suicidal last stand at Hoover Dam, the Great Khans ceased to exist as a tribe. The few surviving members dispersed, joining up with other tribes and gangs across the Mojave, and quickly forgot their heritage.

xbox360 It has been reported that at Nellis Air Force Base, after trying to convince the Boomers to aid the NCR, coming out of Pearl's shack there were two generic Great Khans. [verified]

pcps3xbox360 When trying to complete the Why Can't We Be Friends? quest, the dialog option needed from Papa Khan may not show up especially if you are near the end of the Oh My Papa quest. [verified]

pcxbox360 When completing and turning in the portion of the Aba Daba Honeymoon quest that involves the delivery to Motor-Runner when already "Idolized" with the Khans, the player may gain reputation with them, but somehow be cycled back down to "Accepted." This may be related to keeping the Khans faction uniform on when handing the quest in. [verified]

xbox360 After killing Oscar Velasco in the side quest Climb Ev'ry Mountain, the player might find three Great Khans watching over them while they sleep. Three different Great Khans will appear at each bed and will not move or interact with the player. When talking to them, they will say 'Hi' and nothing else. Their appearance is probably due to the player's Great Khan reputation going down after murdering one of their clan; however, no attempt is made by them to attack or confront the player. [verified]

pcps3xbox360 A Great Khan may run up to you at any place in the Mojave and try to enter conversation but will not say anything. The screen zooms into her face and zooms back out. This may interrupt resting times as well, except when resting at places such as the Lucky 38 presidential suite. [verified]

pcxbox360 Three Great Khans may come with the Courier through the elevator to the presidential suite one day seemingly at random, after completing Oh My Papa and convincing the Great Khans to leave Red Rock Canyon. They wander around and interact with any companions that are staying in the Suite. [verified]

xbox360 After becoming the leader of the Great Khans, the armorer in the Great Khan armory will stop selling you weapons and the option to engage in trading will not even show up. [verified]

xbox360 The Khans will also spawn in areas that don't accept them (behind the Securitrons at the Strip Gate for example), this will generally result in them engaging whomever is hostile to the them. [verified]

pcxbox360ps3 During fast travel or when waiting, one, two, or three Great Khans will appear - even in NCR camps. This bug is related to reputation combination for Great Khans. The bug occurs consistently and repeatably when Great Khan reputation is Mixed, Unpredictable, Soft-hearted Devil, Dark Hero or Wild Child. (Fix On PC: use console to set fame/infamy so reputation is not one of the problem reputations.) [verified]

pc If you kill all Great Khans at Red Rock Canyon, a generic Great Khan may spawn in front of the Gun Runners' stand.